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Bible Praye 


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SELECTED BY 3 


ELISABETH ROBINSON SCOVIL 


PHILADELPHIA 
HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY 


CopPpYRIGHT, 1925 
By Howarp E. ALTemus 


PRINTED IN THE 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


A Foreword 


HE Bible is the great storehouse of 

human experience. It is a record of 

the joys and sorrows, the sufferings and re- 

joicings of the human race from very early 
ages. 

In moments of rapture and of agony 
man pours forth the deepest feelings of his 
heart before his Maker in prayer. The 
prayers in the Bible appeal to us because, 
under such widely different circumstances, 
they might be the utterances of our own 
souls. The language is not altogether the 
same as ours, but the needs and the emotions 
that prompted the outpourings are identical. 

Man still needs God and turns to Him 
when earthly helpers fail, as he has done 
from time immemorial and will continue 
to do as long as the world lasts. 


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Contents 


PAGE 
Pe ail yg ETA VER se 1's) iy sint a aa dies sree Slope a eaten A am hn ac a 7 
The Prayer of Thanksgiving. .........-seeseeseeeeeees 8 
The Prayer of Dedication...........---eeeeeeeererees 10 
The Ungranted Prayer. ........ceeee eee eee e eee eeeee 11 
The Prayer of Despair. .........20seeeee cree eee eenes 13 
The Prayer for a Great Gift........... cece reece rece ees 14 
The Prayer of Repentance. .........- esse ee eee eee e eee 16 
The Prayer of Gratitude......... 6. cece eeeeee eee eeeees 18 
The Prayer for Wisdom..........-eeseeeeeee cece renee 21 
The Prayer of Consecration. ........-.+++eeeeeeeeeeees 23 
The Prayer for a Life... ....... se sce ceeese cece se seees 30 
The Prayer of the Testing. .........--.eeeeeeeeeeeeeee 31 
The Prayer for Vision.........eeeesee cc eeeeeeeerecees 34 
The Prayer for Recovery. .......eeee eect eee eeeeeees 35 
The Prayer of Acknowledgment. ......-.-.+seeeeeeees 37 
The Prayer of the Builder. .........-.. eee ee cece cers 38 
The Prayer of Appeal. ......... 5 eee cece eee cece eeeees 40 
The Prayer of Surrender............-seecececeeceeeees 43 
The Prayer of Trust... 0.0... ecccec reset eee cecsseeees 45 
The Prayer of Confidence............eeeeee eee eee eeees 46 
The Prayer of Rejoicing..........ese eect tere teens AT 
The Prayer of Triumph. .......... cece cece e eee eens 48 
The Prayer of Confession...........22es eer ee eee e eens 50 
The Prayer of Joy........ cece cee n scene ence eee eeesees 53 
The Prayer of Fulfilment... 6.1... sees eee cece en eeee 54 


6 CONTENTS 


PAGE 
The Prayer of Pride and of Humility................... 56 
he Prayer orAssorante sok aew, dove cu eee ae eee 57 
ne Prayer) of Intercession 4927 vues ares victims 2a tok 58 
The Prayer of Supression oo es Gan eas occas: tee 61 
The Prayer of Porgrveneas ji iia Sec wee ote see Goats 63 


‘Lhe Prayer OF SUppuCcAtOns ses ues Rtee earn aoe 64 


Bible Prayers 


The Daily Praper 


HEN our Lord Jesus Christ was on 

earth He was one day praying to His 
Father in heaven. When He ceased one of 
His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us_ 
to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” 
Our Lord said, “When thou prayest enter 
into thy closet and when thou hast shut 
thy door pray to thy Father which is in 
secret. After this manner pray ye’’: 


Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed 
be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. ‘Thy 
will be done as in heaven so in earth. Give 
us day by day our daily bread. And forgive 
us our sins; for we also forgive every one 
that is indebted to us. And lead us not 
into temptation; but deliver us from evil: 
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, 
and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

Sr. Matruew VI: 9. 
7 


8 BIBLE PRAYERS 
The Prayer of Thanksgiving 


OD had saved the children of Israel 
from the hand of Pharaoh and had 
drowned the host of Egyptians who pur- 
sued them in the Red Sea. 
When the Israelites saw that they were 
delivered they burst into a song of thanks- 
giving: 


I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath tri- 
umphed gloriously: the horse and his rider 
hath He thrown into the sea. The Lord is 
my strength and my song, and He is become 
my salvation: He is my God, and I will 
prepare Him an habitation; my father’s 
God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a 
man of war: the Lord is His name. 

Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath He 
cast into the sea: his chosen captains also 
are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths 
have covered them: they sank into the bot- 
tom as a stone. 

Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious 
in power: Thy right hand, O Lord, hath 
dashed in pieces the enemy; and in the 
greatness of Thine excellency Thou hast 


BIBLE PRAYERS 9 


overthrown them that rose up against Thee: 
Thou sentest forth Thy wrath, which con- 
sumed them as stubble; and with the blast 
of Thy nostrils the waters were gathered to- 
gether, the floods stood upright as an heap, 
and the depths were congealed in the heart 
of the sea. 

The enemy said, “I will pursue, I will 
overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust 
shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my 
sword, my hand shall destroy them.” 

Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea 
covered them: they sank as lead in the 
mighty waters. Who is like unto Thee, O 
Lord, among the gods? Who is like unto 
Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, 
doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out Thy 
right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou 
in Thy mercy hast led forth the people 
which Thou hast redeemed: Thou hast 
guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy 
habitation. 

The people shall hear, and be afraid: 
sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of 
Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall 
be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, 
trembling, shall take hold upon them; all 


10 BIBLE PRAYERS 


the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 
Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the 
greatness of Thine arm they shall be as still 
as a stone; till Thy people pass over, O Lord, 
till the people pass over, which Thou hast 
purchased. 

Thou shalt bring them in and plant them 
in the mountain of Thine inheritance, in the 
place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for 
Thee to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, 
which Thy hands have established. The 
Lord shall reign for ever and ever. For the 
horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots 
and with his horsemen into the sea, and the 
Lord brought again the waters of the sea 
upon them; but the children of Israel went 
on dry land in the midst of the sea. 

Exopus XV: 1-19. 


The BWraper of Dedication 


ACOB had gone out from the house of 
his father Isaac and was on his way to 
Padan-aram to seek a wife from his own 
kin, instead of marrying one of the daughters 
of Heth, whom his mother disliked. God 
had spoken to him in a dream and said, 


BIBLE PRAYERS 11 


**Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee 
in all places whither thou goest, and will 
bring thee again into this land.” Jacob, 
greatly awed, built an altar and poured oil 
on it and offered this prayer: 


If God will be with me, and will keep me 
in this way that I go, and will give me bread 
to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come 
again to my father’s house in peace, then 
shall the Lord be my God: and this stone, 
which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s 
house: and of all that Thou shalt give me, I 
will surely give the tenth unto Thee. 

GrneEsIS XXVIII: 20. 


The Angranted Praper 


OSES had led the children of Israel to 

the very border of the promised land. 

They were on this side Jordan in the land of 
Moab. The country which they had sought 
during their forty years journeying in the 
wilderness stretched fair and pleasant before 
them. Moses had led them thus far, but 
God had decreed that he should not enter 
that goodly land because of his disobedience. 


12 BIBLE PRAYERS 


Moses felt that he could not bear it, so he 
besought the Lord, saying: 


O Lord God, Thou hast begun to shew 
Thy servant Thy greatness, and Thy mighty 
hand: for what God is there in heaven or 
in earth, that can do according to Thy 
works, and according to Thy might? I 
pray Thee, let me go over and see the good 
land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly 
mountain, and Lebanon. 

Deuteronomy IIT: 24. 


The answer was, “‘Get thee up unto the 
top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes west- 
ward, and northward, and southward, and 
eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: 
for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.” 

But God, who does exceeding abundantly 
above all that we, can ask or think, had 
better things in store for Moses than a short 
sojourn in the land of his desire. He was 
already an hundred and twenty years old 
and must have been burdened with many 
of the infirmities of age. From the moun- 
tain of Nebo, at the top of Pisgah, God took 


BIBLE PRAYERS 13 


him to Himself, to dwell in His immediate 
presence. Where his mortal body was laid 
was never told, for ““no man knoweth of his 
sepulchre unto this day.” 

We do know from the New Testament 
that long after, when our Lord was trans- 
figured before His three disciples, Moses 
appeared and talked with Him. The Gos- 
pel chronicler says “appeared in glory,” a 
state of blessedness beyond human concep- 
tion, the disappointment long forgotten, or 
amply recompensed. 


The Prayer of Bespair 


FTER Moses’ death God appointed 

Joshua to lead the hosts of Israel. For 

their sins they were defeated and fled before 

their enemies. Joshua rent his clothes, 

fell on his face to the earth, put dust on his 
head and prayed: 


Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast Thou 
at all brought this people over Jordan, to 
deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, 
to destroy us? Would to God we had been 


14 BIBLE PRAYERS 


content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan. 
O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth 
their backs before their enemies? For the 
Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the 
land shall hear of it, and shall environ us 
round, and cut off our name from the earth: 
and what wilt Thou do unto Thy great 
name? 


gosHuaA VII: 7. 


God said, “‘Get thee up; wherefore liest 
thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned. 
Sanctify the people. Take away the accursed 
thing from among you.” 

No need for despair, do your part. When 
they had purified themselves by obedience 
God gave the city into their hands and they 
conquered their enemies. 


The Braver for a Great Gitt 


ANNAH was the wife of Elkanah, of 

the tribe of Ephraim. She was happy 

in her husband’s love, but she had one great 
sorrow, she was childless. Each year when 
they went up to the house of the Lord and 
her grief overcame her he tried to comfort 


BIBLE PRAYERS 15 


her. “Hannah,” he said, “why weepest 
thou, and why eatest thou not, and why is 
thy heart grieved? Am I not better to thee 
than ten sons?” Poor Hannah in the 
bitterness of her soul refused comfort. She 
prayed unto the Lord and said: 


O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look 
on the affliction of Thine handmaid, and 
remember me, and not forget Thine hand- 
maid, but wilt give unto Thine handmaid a 
man child, then I will give him unto the 
Lord all the days of his life, and there shall 
no razor come upon his head. 

I Samuet [: 11. 


She knelt long in silent prayer. The old 
priest, Eli, saw her praying and said to her, 
“Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant 
thee thy petition that thou hast asked of 
Him.” 

In due time she had a son and called him 
Samuel, which means ‘‘ Asked of God.”’ 

Hannah kept her promise; when the boy 
was very young she took him up to the 
Temple and left him with Eli, saying, “I 


16 BIBLE PRAYERS 


have lent him to the Lord; as long as he 
liveth he shall be lent to the Lord.” So the 
child ministered to the Lord before Eli, the 
priest. Every year his mother made him a 
little coat and brought it to him when she 
came up with her husband to offer the 
yearly sacrifice. 

Hannah’s home was not left desolate; 
she had three more sons and two daughters. 

Samuel became a prophet of the Lord and 
ruled Israel. 


Che Praper of Repentance 


AVID had committed a great sin. He 

not only loved another man’s wife, 
he ordered Joab to set her husband in the 
front rank of the army in battle that he 
might be killed. When the man was dead 
David took Bath-sheba to be his wife. 

He managed to silence his conscience, so 
that it does not seem even to have occurred 
to him that he had sinned. God sent 
Nathan, the prophet, to tell him of his sin 
in a parable. When he heard of the rich 
man who spared to take of his own flocks 


BIBLE PRAYERS Ly, 


and herds for the entertainment of the 
stranger who came to see him, but killed the 
one ewe lamb of the poor man, he was very 
wroth. He said, “The man that hath done 
this thing shall surely die.” Nathan said, 
‘Thou art the man.” 

David’s prayer of repentance is surely the 
shortest on record: 


I have sinned against the Lord. 
II Samuet XII: 13. 


It was enough. Nathan said, “The Lord 
also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not 
die.” 

Nevertheless, since punishment always 
follows sin, whether we can trace the con- 
nection or not, it did not fail in this case. 

The little child of David and Bath-sheba 
became very ill. David besought God for 
the child’s life and fasted and lay on the 
ground all night. The words of his prayer 
have not been recorded, but they must 
have been those of deep repentance and self- 
accusation and humiliation. After seven 


days the child died. ‘The elders of the house 
2 


18 BIBLE PRAYERS 


feared to tell him of its death. But when 
David saw that his servants whispered to- 
gether he said, “Is the child dead?” and they 
said, ‘‘He is dead.” 

Then, to their great surprise, David arose 
from the earth, and washed and anointed 
himself and changed his apparel and went to 
the house of the Lord and _ worshipped. 
Then they set bread before him and he did 
eat. 

When the servants asked why he did not 
grieve when he lamented so sorely before the 
child’s death, he said: 

“While the child was yet alive, I fasted 
and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether 
God will be gracious to me, that the child 
may live? But now he is dead, wherefore 
should I fast? Can I bring him back again? 
I shall go to him, but he shall not return to 
me.” 

The Praper of Gratitude 
AVID greatly desired to build a temple 
to the Lord, which in some measure 
should be worthy of His great name. God 
commanded Nathan to tell David that He 


BIBLE PRAYERS 19 


would give him a son who should build this 
house, and moreover He would establish the 
throne of his kingdom forever. In deep grat- 
itude David went in and sat before the Lord 
and poured out his heart to Him: 


Who am I, O Lord, and what is my house 
that Thou hast brought me hitherto? And 
this was yet a small thing in Thy sight, O 
Lord God; but Thou hast spoken also of 
Thy servant’s house for a great while to 
come. And is this the manner of man, O 
Lord God? And what can David say more 
unto Thee? For Thou, Lord God, knowest 
Thy servant. For Thy word’s sake, and 
according to Thine own heart, hast Thou 
done all these great things, to make Thy 
servant know them. 

Wherefore Thou art great, O Lord God: 
for there is none like Thee, neither is there 
any God beside Thee, according to all that 
we have heard with our ears. And what 
one nation in the earth is like Thy people, 
even like Israel, whom God went to redeem 
for a people to Himself, and to make Him 
a name, and to do for you great things and 
terrible, for Thy land, before Thy people, 


20 BIBLE PRAYERS 


which Thou redeemedst to Thee from Egypt, 
from the nations and their gods? 

For Thou hast confirmed to Thyself Thy 
people Israel to be a people unto Thee for- 
ever: and Thou, Lord, art become their 
God. And now, O Lord God, the word 
that Thou hast spoken concerning Thy 
servant, and concerning his house, establish 
it forever and do as Thou hast said. And 
let Thy name be magnified forever, saying, 
The Lord of Hosts is the God over Israel: 
and let the house of Thy servant David be 
established before Thee. 

For Thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, 
hast revealed to Thy servant, saying, I will 
build thee an house: therefore hath Thy 
servant found in his heart to pray this 
prayer unto Thee. And now, O Lord God, 
~ Thou art that God, and Thy words be true, 
and Thou hast promised this goodness unto 
Thy servant: Therefore let it please Thee 
to bless the house of Thy servant, that it 
may continue forever before Thee: for Thou 
O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with Thy 
blessing let the house of Thy servant be 
blessed forever. 

II Samuet VII: 18. 


BIBLE PRAYERS 21 


The Braver for Wisdom 


AVID was dead and Solomon, the son 
of Bath-sheba, reigned in his father’s 
stead. Solomon felt to the full the difficulty 
- of succeeding such a great king as David. 
He knew that what he most needed was 
wisdom. 
God appeared to him in a dream and said 
to him, “Ask what I shall give thee.” 
Solomon said, with the fervor that comes 
from great need: 


Thou hast showed unto Thy servant 
David my father great mercy, according as 
he walked before Thee in truth, and in 
righteousness, and in uprightness of heart 
with Thee; and Thou hast kept for him this 
great kindness, that Thou hast given him a 
son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 

And now, O Lord my God, Thou hast 
made Thy servant king instead of David my 
father: and I am but a little child: I know 
not how to go out or come in. And Thy 
servant is in the midst of Thy people which 
Thou hast chosen, a great people, that can- 
not be numbered nor counted for multitude. 


99 BIBLE PRAYERS 


Give therefore Thy servant an understand- 
ing heart to judge Thy people, that I may 
discern between good and bad: for who is 
able to judge this Thy so great a people? 

I Kines IIT: 6. 


The prayer brought an immediate answer. 
God said to him, “Because thou hast asked 
this thing, and hast not asked for thyself 
long life; neither hast asked riches for thy- 
self, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; 
but hast asked for thyself understanding to 
discern judgment; behold, I have done 
according to thy words: lo, I have given 
thee a wise and an understanding heart; so 
that there was none like thee before thee, 
neither after thee shall any arise like unto 
thee. And I have also given thee that which 
thou hast not asked, both riches and honor: 
so that there shall not be any among the 
kings like unto thee all thy days. And if 
thou wilt walk in My ways, to keep My 
statutes and My commandments, as thy 
father David did walk, then I will lengthen 
thy days.” 


BIBLE PRAYERS 23 


The Prayer of Gonsecration 


OLOMON built an exceedingly magnifi- 
cent temple to the Lord. Costly woods 

and precious stones, gold and silver and 
brass were used to make it glorious. The 
hangings within were of scarlet and purple 
and fine twined linen; nothing that could 
make for glory and for beauty had been 
omitted. The priests took up the Ark of ~ 
the Lord, which had been with the Israelites 
through all their wanderings in the wilder- 
ness, and brought it to rest in this holy place, 
between the spreading wings of two cheru- 
bim. The glory of the Lord filled the house 


and Solomon prayed: 


I have surely built Thee an house to dwell 
in, a settled place for Thee to abide in for- 
ever. . . . Blessed be the Lord God of 
Israel, which spake with His mouth unto 
David my father, and hath with His hand 
fulfilled it, saying, “Since the day that I 
brought forth My people Israel out of Egypt, 
I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel 
to build an house that My name might be 


24 BIBLE PRAYERS 


therein; but I chose David to be over My 
people Israel.” 

And it was in the heart of David my father 
to build an house for the name of the Lord 
God of Israel. And the Lord said unto 
David my father, ‘Whereas it was in thine 
heart to build an house unto My name, thou 
didst well that it was in thine heart. Never- 
theless thou shalt not build the house; but 
thy son that shall come forth out of thy 
loins, he shall build the house unto My 
name.” 

And the Lord hath performed His word 
that He spake, and I am risen up in the room 
of David my father, and sit on the throne 
of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have 
built an house for the name of the Lord God 
of Israel. And I have set there a place for 
the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, 
which He made with our fathers, when He 
brought them out of the land of Egypt... . 

Lord God of Israel, there is no God like 
Thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, 
Who keepest covenant and mercy with Thy 
servants that walk before Thee with all their 
heart: Who hast kept with Thy servant 
David my father that Thou promisedst 


BIBLE PRAYERS 25 


him: Thou spakest also with Thy mouth, 
and hast fulfilled it with Thy hand, as it is 
this day. Therefore now, Lord God of 
Israel, keep with Thy servant David my 
father that Thou promisedst him, saying, 
“There shall not fail thee a man in My 
sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that 
thy children take heed to their way, that 
they walk before Me as thou hast walked 
before Me.” | 

And now, O God of Israel, let Thy word, 
I pray Thee, be verified, which Thou spakest 
unto Thy servant David my father. But 
will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, 
the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot 
contain Thee; how much less this house that 
I have builded? 

Yet have Thou respect unto the prayer of 
Thy servant, and to his supplication, O 
Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and 
to the prayer, which Thy servant prayeth 
before Thee today: that Thine eyes may be 
open toward this house night and day, even 
toward the place of which Thou hast said, 
“My name shall be there”: that Thou 
mayest hearken unto the prayer which Thy 
servant shall make toward this place. And 


26 BIBLE PRAYERS 


hearken Thou to the supplication of Thy 
servant, and of Thy people Israel, when they 
shall pray toward this place: and hear Thou 
in heaven Thy dwelling place: and when 
Thou hearest, forgive. 

If any man trespass against his neighbour, 
and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to 
swear, and the oath come before Thine altar 
in this house: then hear Thou in heaven, 
and do, and judge Thy servants, condemn- 
ing the wicked, to bring his way upon his 
head; and justifying the righteous, to give 
him according to his righteousness. When 
Thy people Israel be smitten down before the 
enemy, because they have sinned against 
Thee, and shall turn again to Thee, and con- 
fess Thy name, and pray, and make suppli- 
cation unto Thee in this house: Then hear 
_ Thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of Thy 
people Israel, and bring them again unto 
the land which Thou gavest unto their fathers. 

When heaven is shut up, and there is no 
rain, because they have sinned against Thee; 
if they pray toward this place, and confess 
Thy name, and turn from their sin, when 
Thou afflictest them: Then hear Thou in 
heaven, and forgive the sin of Thy servants, 


BIBLE PRAYERS Q7 


and of Thy people Israel, that Thou teach 
them the good way wherein they should walk, 
and give rain upon Thy land, which Thou hast 
given to Thy people for an inheritance. 

If there be in the land famine, if there be 
pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if 
there be caterpiller, if their enemy besiege 
them in the land of their cities; whatsoever 
plague, whatsoever sickness there be; what 
prayer and supplication so ever be made by _ 
any man, or by all Thy people Israel, which 
shall know every man the plague of his own 
heart, and spread forth his hands toward 
this house: Then hear Thou in heaven Thy 
dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give 
to every man according to his ways, whose 
heart Thou knowest (for Thou, even Thou 
only, knowest the hearts of all the children 
of men;) that they may fear Thee all the 
days that they live in the land which Thou 
gavest unto our fathers. 

Moreover concerning a stranger, that is 
not of Thy people Israel, but cometh out of 
a far country for Thy name’s sake; (for they 
shall hear of Thy great name, and of Thy 
strong hand, and of Thy stretched-out arm:) 
when he shall come and pray toward this 


28 BIBLE PRAYERS 


house; hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling 
place, and do according to all that the 
stranger calleth to Thee for: that all people 
of the earth may know Thy name, to fear 
Thee, as do Thy people Israel; and that they 
may know that this house, which I have 
builded, is called by Thy name. 

If Thy people go out to battle against 
their enemy, whithersoever Thou shalt send 
them, and shall pray unto the Lord toward 
the city which Thou hast chosen, and toward 
the house which I have built for Thy name: 
Then hear Thou in heaven their prayer and 
their supplication, and maintain their cause. 
If they sin against Thee, (for there is no man 
that sinneth not,) and Thou be angry with 
them, and deliver them to the enemy, so 
that they carry them ‘away captives unto 
the land of the enemy, far or near; yet if 
they shall bethink themselves in the land 
whither they were: carried captives, and 
repent, and make supplication unto Thee 
in the land of them that carried them cap- 
tives, saying, ““We have sinned, and have 
done perversely, we have committed wick- 
edness”; and so return unto Thee with all 
their heart, and with all their soul, in the 


BIBLE PRAYERS 29 


land of their enemies, which led them away 
captive, and pray unto Thee toward their 
land, which Thou gavest unto their fathers, 
the city which Thou hast chosen, and the 
house which I have built for Thy name: 
Then hear Thou their prayer and their sup- 
plication in heaven Thy dwelling place, 
and maintain their cause, and forgive Thy 
people that have sinned against Thee, and 
all their transgressions wherein they have 
transgressed against Thee, and give them 
compassion before them who carried them 
captive, that they may have compassion on 
them: For they be Thy people, and Thine 
inheritance, which Thou broughtest forth 
out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace 
of iron: That Thine eyes may be open unto 
the supplication of Thy servant, and unto 
the supplication of Thy people Israel, to 
hearken unto them in all that they call for 
unto Thee. For Thou didst separate them 
from among all the people of the earth, to 
be Thine inheritance, as Thou spakest by 
the hand of Moses Thy servant, when Thou 
broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord 
God. 
I Kines VIII: 13. 


30 BIBLE PRAYERS 


God accepted the offering of Solomon and 
hallowed the house with His presence, prom- 
ising to continue to dwell there as long as 
the children of Israel kept His command- 
ments and obeyed Him. 


The Braver for a Life 


HERE was a great famine in the land 
of Israel, because for long there had 
been no rain. God had sent the prophet 
Elijah to Zarephath. When he reached 
there he saw a widow gathering sticks to 
cook her scanty meal. He asked her to 
bring him a little water and a morsel of 
bread. She said she had but a handful of 
meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse, 
not enough for herself and her son. How- 
ever, when the prophet told her God had 
promised that the barrel of meal should not 
waste, nor the cruse of oil fail, until the day 
the Lord should send rain on the earth, she 
shared them with him. 
Not long after her son fell sick and died. 
She was in deep’ distress and said Elijah had 
come to slay her son. 


BIBLE PRAYERS 31 


He took the boy and carried him to the 
loft where he stayed and laid him upon his 
own bed and prayed: 


O Lord my God, hast Thou also brought 
evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, 
by slaying her son? 

O Lord my God, I pray Thee, let this 
child’s soul come into him again. 


I Kines XVII: 20. 


He stretched himself upon the child three 
times. The Lord heard the voice of Elijah 
and the soul of the child came imto him 
again and he revived. Elijah took the child 
and brought him down out of the chamber 
into the house and delivered him unto his 
mother, saying, “See, thy son liveth.” 


The Braper of the Testing 
ANY of the people of Israel had turned 


away from following God, and wor- 
shipped Baal. It grieved Elijah and he said 
to them, “If the Lord be God, follow him; 
but if Baal, then follow him.” 


32 BIBLE PRAYERS 


He proposed that the four hundred and 
fifty priests of Baal should build an altar to 
their false god and place a bullock cut in 
pieces on the wood and put no fire under it. 
He would build an altar to the Lord and do 
the same. Then each should call on the 
name of his God and the God that answered 
by fire should be acknowledged to be the 
true God. 

The priests of Baal prepared their sacrifice 
and called on the name of their god from 
morning until noon, but there was no voice, 
nor any that answered. Then Elijah mocked 
them and said, “‘Cry aloud, for he is a god; 
either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or 
he is in a journey, or peradventure he is 
sleeping and must be awaked.” ‘They per- 
severed until the time of the evening sac- 
rifice, but there was no voice, nor any that 
regarded. | 

Then Elijah called the priests of Baal and 
the people to come near. He took twelve 
stones, one for each of the tribes of Israel, 
and built an altar. Round the altar he 
dug a deep trench. He laid the wood on 


BIBLE PRAYERS 33 


the altar and placed the flesh of the bullock 
on it. Then he said to the people, “Fill 
four barrels with water and pour it on the 
wood and on the sacrifice.’ “Do it the 
the second time,” he said, “and the third 
time”; the water filled the trench. Then 
Elijah prayed: 


Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, 
let it be known this day that Thou art God 
in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and 
that I have done all these things at Thy 
word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that 
this people may know that Thou art the 
Lord God and that Thou hast turned their 
heart back again. 
? I Kines XVIII: 36. 


The fire of the Lord fell and consumed the 
burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones 
and the dust, and licked up the water that 
was in the trench. When all the people 
saw it they fell on their faces and said, “The 
Lord, He is the God; the Lord, He is the 


God.” 
3 


34 BIBLE PRAYERS 


The Praper for Wision 


LISHA, the prophet, had warned the 

king of Israel against the coming of 
the king of Syria to destroy him and his 
army. The king of Israel had saved him- 
self, “not once, or twice,” but many times. 
Therefore, the king of Syria was full of rage 
against Elisha and determined to kill him. He 
sent horses and chariots and a great host to 
surround Dothan, where Elisha was, to take 
him. 

The servant of the prophet rose early in 
the morning, and behold a host compassed 
the city. Greatly disturbed he came to 
Elisha and said, “Alas, my master, how 
shall we do?” Elisha said, “Fear not: for 
they that be with us are more than they that 
be with them.” The servant could not be- 
lieve this against the evidence of his senses. 
He saw hosts of enemies and not one friend. 
Then Elisha prayed: 


Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes that he 
may see. 


II Krves VI: 17. 


BIBLE PRAYERS 35 


And the Lord opened the eyes of the young 
man and he saw: and behold the mountain 
was full of horses and chariots of fire round 
about Elisha. . 

David had said long before, “The angel 
of the Lord encampeth round about them 
that fear Him and delivereth them.” 

God said to Zechariah long after, “I will 
encamp about Mine house because of the 
army, because of him that passeth by, and 
because of him that returneth: and no 
oppressor shall pass through them any 
more.” 

The angel guard is still there. We need 
only the vision, the opened eyes, to behold 
re 


The Prayer for Wecoverp 


EZEKIAH the king was sick unto 

death. The prophet Isaiah, the son 

of Amos, came to him and said, “Thus saith 

the Lord, Set thine house in order for thou 
shalt die and not live.” 

Hezekiah was a good king; he wanted to 

stay longer with his people and finish his 


36 BIBLE PRAYERS 


work. When he heard Isaiah’s words he 
turned his face to the wall and prayed: 


I beseech Thee, O Lord, remember now 
how I have walked before Thee in truth and 
with a perfect heart, and have done that 
which is good in Thy sight. 

II Kines XX: 3. 


He did not need many words; he wept 
bitterly. Isaiah had gone only as far as the 
middle court on his way out, when the word 
of the Lord came to him, saying, “Turn 
again, and tell Hezekiah, the captain of My 
people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of 
David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, 
I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will heal 
thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto 
the house of the Lord. And I will add unto 
thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver 
thee and this city out of the hand of the 
king of Assyria; and I will defend this city 
for Mine own sake, and for My servant 
David’s sake.” 

Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs and lay 
it on the boil and he shall recover.” 


BIBLE PRAYERS 37 


The Braver of Acknowledgment 


HIS is the writing of Hezekiah, the 
king of Judah, when he had been sick 


and was recovered of his sickness: 


I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall 
go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived 
of the residue of my years. I said, I shall 
not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land 
of the living: I shall behold man no more 
with the inhabitants of the world. Mine 
age is departed, and is removed from me as 
a shepherd’s tent; I have cut off like a 
weaver my life: He will cut me off with 
pining sickness: from day even to night 
wilt Thou make an end of me. Like a 
crane, or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did 
mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with look- 
ing upward; O Lord, I am oppressed; under- 
take for me. 

What shall I say? He hath both spoken 

unto me, and Himself hath done it: I shall 
go softly all my years in the bitterness of my 
soul. O Lord, by these things men live, 
and in all these things is the life of my spirit: 
so wilt Thou recover me, and make me to live. 

Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: 


38 BIBLE PRAYERS 


but Thou hast in love to my soul delivered 
it from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast 
east all my sins behind Thy back. For the 
grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot 
celebrate Thee: they that go down into the 
pit cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, 
the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this 
day: the father to the children shall make 
known Thy truth. 

The Lord was ready to save me; therefore 
we will sing my songs to the stringed instru- 
ments all the days of our life in the house of 
the Lord. 

Isatan XXXVIITI: 10. 


Che Praper of the Builder 


HE land of Israel had been overrun by 

the heathen who surrounded it and the 
Jews were in captivity in their own country 
and scattered in distant lands. The walls 
of Jerusalem had been broken down and the 
gates burned with fire. 

Tidings of this disaster were brought to 
Nehemiah, a devout Jew, who was cup- 
bearer to Artaxerxes, king of Babylon. 
When he heard the report of the men of 


BIBLE PRAYERS 39 


Judah, who had come to him, he wept and 
fasted and prayed before the God of Heaven. 


I beseech Thee, O Lord God of heaven, 
the great and terrible God, that keepeth 
covenant and mercy for them that love 
Him and observe His commandments: Let 
Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes 
open, that Thou mayest hear the prayer of 
Thy servant, which I pray before Thee now, | 
day and night, for the children of Israel Thy 
servants, and confess the sins of the children 
of Israel, which we have sinned against 
Thee: both I and my father’s house have 
sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against 
Thee, and have not kept the commandments, 
nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which 
Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses. 

Remember, I beseech Thee, the word that 
Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses, say- 
ing, If ye transgress, I will scatter thee 
abroad among the nations: But if ye turn 
unto me, and keep My commandments, and 
do them, though there were of you cast out 
into the uttermost part of the heaven, yet 
will I gather them from thence, and will 
bring them unto the place that I have chosen 
to set My name there. 


40 BIBLE PRAYERS 


Now these are Thy servants and Thy 
people, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy 
great power, and by Thy strong hand. O 
Lord, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be 
attentive to the prayer of Thy servants, who 
desire to fear Thy name: and prosper, I 
pray Thee, Thy servant this day, and grant 
him mercy in the sight of this man. 

Nenemian I: 5. 


Nehemiah sought permission from Arta- 
xerxes to go to Judah that he might rebuild 
Jerusalem. This was granted and he re- 
built the wall. 


The Praper of Appeal 
HE book of Job is one of the oldest, if 


not the most ancient, in the canon of 
Scripture. It records the deep searchings 
of a soul who from great prosperity was cast 
down to the depths of poverty, sickness, and 
despair. It is in the form of a dialogue 
between Job and three of his friends. They 
try to make him confess that his sufferings 
are a just punishment for his transgressions; 
but Job, knowing himself innocent of inten- 


BIBLE PRAYERS Al 


tional wrongdoing, will not acknowledge this. 
He appeals to God. 


My soul is weary of my life; I will leave 
my complaint upon myself; I will speak in 
the bitterness of my soul. I will say unto 
God, Do not condemn me; show me where- 
fore Thou contendest with me. Is it good 
unto Thee that Thou shouldest oppress, that 
Thou shouldest despise the work of Thine 
hands, and shine upon the counsel of the 
wicked? 

Hast Thou eyes of flesh, or seest Thou as 
man seeth? Are Thy days as the days of 
man? Are Thy years as man’s days, that 
Thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and 
searchest after my sin? Thou knowest that 
I am not wicked; and there is none that can 
deliver out of Thine hand. 

Thine hands have made me and fashioned 
me together round about; yet Thou dost 
destroy me. Remember, I beseech Thee, 
that Thou hast made me as the clay; and 
wilt Thou bring me into dust again? Hast 
Thou not poured me out as milk, and 
curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed 
me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me 


42 BIBLE PRAYERS 


with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted 
me life and favor, and Thy visitation hath 
preserved my spirit. And these things hast 
Thou hid in Thine heart: I know that this 
is with Thee. 

If I sin then Thou markest me, and Thou 
wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. If 
I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be right- 
eous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am 
full of confusion; therefore see Thou mine 
affliction; for it increaseth. Thou huntest 
me as a fierce lion: and again Thou showest 
Thyself marvellous unto me. Thou re- 
newest Thy witness against me, and in- 
creasest Thine indignation upon me; changes 
and war are against me. 

Wherefore then hast Thou brought me 
forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given 
up the ghost and no eye had seen me! I 
should have been as though I had not been; 
I should have been carried from the womb 
to the grave. Are not my days few? Cease 
then, and let me alone, that I may take com- 
fort a little, before I go whence I shall not 
return, even to the land of darkness and the 
shadow of death; a land of darkness, as 
darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, 


BIBLE PRAYERS A3 


without any order, and where the light is as 
darkness. Jos X: 1. 


Job did not submit too meekly to the ad- 
monitions of his friends. He even indulged 
in mild sarcasm when he was driven too 
far. ‘‘No doubt but ye are the people, and 
wisdom shall die with you. But I have 
understanding as well as you; I am not in- 
ferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such_ 
things as these? Miserable comforters are 
ye all.” 


~ Che Praper of Surrender 


OD answered Job and showed him how 

great the Almighty is in power, wis- 

dom, and goodness. His ways are past 

finding out, but are to be received with trust 
and submission. Job said: 


Behold I am vile; what shall I answer 
Thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. 
I know that Thou canst do everything, and 
that no thought can be withholden from Thee. 
Who is he that hideth counsel without 
knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that 
I understood not; things too wonderful for 


Ad BIBLE PRAYERS 


me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech 
Thee, and I will speak: I will demand of 
Thee, and declare Thou unto me. I have 
heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: 
but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore 
I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. 


JOB XL: 4. 


God heard the prayer of his servant and 
gave him double for all that he had lost. 

Then came unto him all his brethren, and 
all his sisters, and all they that had been of 
his acquaintance before, and did eat bread 
with him in his house: and they bemoaned 
him, and comforted him over all the evil 
that the Lord had brought upon him: every 
man also gave him a piece of money and 
everyone an earring of gold. So the Lord 
blessed the latter end of Job more than his 
beginning: for he had fourteen thousand 
sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thou- 
sand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. 

He had also seven sons and three daughters. 
And he called the name of the first Jemima; 
and the name of the second Kezia; and 
the name of the third Keren-happuch. 


BIBLE PRAYERS 45 


And in all the land were no women found 
so fair as the daughters of Job: and their 
father gave them inheritance among their 
brethren. 

After this Job lived an hundred and forty 
years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, 
even four generations. So Job died, being 
old and full of days. 


The Pravper of Trust 


HE book of Psalms is a book of prayers 

and thanksgiving. The Psalms have 
been sung and recited in the services of 
churches, both Jewish and Christian, since 
long before the time of the building of 
Solomon’s temple. The Psalms have ex- 
pressed the fears and hopes, the desires and 
longings of countless generations, and they 
still rise to the lips of countless thousands as 
the best expression of their deepest feelings 
in hours of depression or in moments of joy. 


How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord? 
forever? How long wilt Thou hide Thy 
face from me? How long shall I take coun- 


46 BIBLE PRAYERS 


sel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart 
daily? How long shall mine enemy be 
exalted over me? 

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: 
lighten mine eyes lest I sleep the sleep of 
death; lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed 
against him: and those that trouble me re- 
joice when I am moved. 

But I have trusted in Thy mercy; my 
heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation. I will 
sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt 
bountifully with me. 

Psatm XIII: 1. 


The Braper of Gontidence 


HE mountains have seemed to many a 

stricken soul a refuge from the dangers 
of the plain. In their steadfastness they 
seem to typify the strength of God. 


I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from 
whence cometh my help. My help cometh 
from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. 
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He 
that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, 
He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber 
nor sleep. 


BIBLE PRAYERS AT 


The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy 
shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall 
not smite thee by day, nor the moon by 
night. The Lord shall preserve thee from 
all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The 
Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy 
coming in from this time forth, and even for 
evermore. 


Psatum CXXI: 1. 


The Praper of Rejoicing 


UR prayers are chiefly supplications 

for the things that we need. It is 
seldom that we pour out our hearts in praise 
to God, or in fervent thanksgiving for our 
blessings. In the Psalms we have more 
than one song of joy. 


I will praise Thee with my whole heart; 
before the gods will I sing praise unto Thee. 
I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and 
praise Thy name for Thy lovingkindness 
and for Thy truth: for Thou hast magnified 
Thy word above all Thy name. 

In the day when I cried Thou answeredst 
me, and strengthenedst me with strength 
in my soul. All the kings of the earth shall 


48 BIBLE PRAYERS 


praise Thee, O Lord, when they hear the 
words of Thy mouth. Yea, they shall sing 
in the ways of the Lord: for great is the 
glory of the Lord. Though the Lord be 
high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly: 
but the proud He knoweth afar off. 

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, 
Thou wilt revive me: Thou shalt stretch 
forth Thine hand against the wrath of mine 
enemies, and Thy right hand shall save me. 
The Lord will perfect that which concerneth 
me: Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever: 
forsake not the works of Thine own hands. 

Psatm CXXXVIII: 1. 


The Praper of Triumph 


HE mournful prophecies of Isaiah, 

foretelling the evils that should come 
upon the people of Israel because they had 
disobeyed God, are broken now and then by 
the vision of victory and the remembrance 
of past love. 


O Lord, Thou art my God; I will exalt 
Thee, I will praise Thy name; for Thou hast 
done wonderful things; Thy counsels of old 


BIBLE PRAYERS 49 


are faithfulness and truth. For Thou hast 
made of a city a heap; of a defenced city a 
ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it 
shall never be built. Therefore shall the 
strong people glorify Thee, the city of the 
terrible nations shall fear Thee. 

For Thou hast been a strength to the poor, 
a strength to the needy in his distress, a 
refuge from the storm, a shadow from the 
heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as 
a storm against the wall. , 

Thou shalt bring down the noise of stran- 
gers, as the heat in a dry place; even the 
heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch 
of the terrible ones shall be brought low. 
And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts 
make unto all people a feast of fat things, a 
- feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full 
of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. 
And He will destroy in this mountain the 
face of the covering cast over all people, and 
the veil that is spread over all nations. 

He will swallow up death in victory; and 
the Lord God will wipe away tears from off 
all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall 
He take away from off all the earth: for the 
Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said 

4 


50 BIBLE PRAYERS 


in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have 
waited for Him, and He will save us; this is 
the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will 


be glad and rejoice in His salvation. 
IsataH XXY: 1. 


The Praper of Gontession 
EBUCHADNEZZAR, king of Baby- 


lon, besieged Jerusalem and took the 
holy city. He ordered the master of his 
eunuchs to choose certain children from’ 
among the Jews, good-looking and clever, 
who might be taught the learning and the 
language of the Chaldeans and live in the 
king’s palace. One of them, Daniel, deter- 
mined that he would still keep the command- 
ments of God and observe the customs of 
the Jews, though he was in a strange land. 
He passed through many vicissitudes, but 
was greatly belovéd by his kingly masters. 
He had always before him the vision of the 
restoration of Jerusalem, and he made this 
prayer to God: 


O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keep- 


ing the covenant and mercy to them that 


BIBLE PRAYERS 51 


love Him, and to them that keep His com- 
mandments; we have sinned, and have com- 
mitted iniquity; and have done wickedly, 
and have rebelled, even by departing from 
Thy. precepts and from Thy judgments: 
neither have we hearkened unto Thy serv- 
‘ants the prophets, which spoke in Thy name 
to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, 
and to all the people of the land. 

O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto 
Thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at 
this day; to the men of Judah, and to the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, 
that are near, and that are far off, through 
all the countries whither Thou hast driven 
them, because of their trespass that they 
hhave trespassed against Thee. 

O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, 
to our kings, to our princes, and to our 
fathers, because we have sinned against 
Thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies 
and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled 
against Him; neither have we obeyed the 
voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His 
laws which He set before us by his servants 
the prophets. 

Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, 


52 BIBLE PRAYERS 


even by departing, that they might not obey 
Thy voice; therefore the curse is poured 
upon us and the oath that is written in the 
law of Moses, the servant of God, because 
we have sinned against him. And He hath 
confirmed His words which He spake against 
us, and against our judges which judged us, 
by bringing upon us a great evil: for under 
the whole heaven hath not been done as 
hath been done upon Jerusalem. | 

As it is written in the law of Moses, all 
this evil is come upon us: yet made we not 
our prayer before the Lord our God, that 
'we might turn from our iniquities, and 
understand Thy truth. Therefore hath the 
Lord watched upon the evil, and brought 
it upon us:| for the Lord our God is righteous 
in all His works which He doeth: |} for we 
obeyed not His voice. And now, O Lord 
our God, that hast brought Thy people forth 
out of the land of Egypt with a mighty 
hand, and hast gotten Thee renown, as at 
this day; we have sinned, we have done 
wickedly. 

O Lord, according to all Thy righteous- 
ness, I beseech Thee, let Thine anger and 
Thy fury be turned away from Thy city 


BIBLE PRAYERS 53 


Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain: ' because 
for our sins, and for the iniquities of our 
fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people are be- 
come a reproach to all that are about us. 
“Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer 
of Thy servant, and his supplications, and 
cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary__ 
that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. O my \ 
God, incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine 
eyes, and behold our desolations, and the 
city which is called by Thy name; for we do 
not present our supplications before Thee 
for our righteousness, but for Thy great 
mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; 
O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine 
own sake, O my God: for Thy city and Thy 
people are called by Thy name. 
Danie IX: 4. 


The Wraper of Foy 


HE Jewish dispensation was drawing 
to an end. ‘The Messiah, so long looked 
for, was about to appear. Mary, who was 
to be His mother, had been told that it was 
her son who was to redeem, not only Israel, 
but the whole world. She pours out the emo- 


54 BIBLE PRAYERS 


tions of her soul in that Magnificat, which 
has been a song of joy to all ages: 


My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my 
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For 
He hath regarded the low estate of His 
handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth 
all generations shall call me blessed. For 
He that is mighty hath done to me great 
things; and holy is His name. And His 
mercy is on them that fear Him from gener- 
ation to generation. He hath showed strength 
with His arm; He hath scattered the proud 
in the imagination of their hearts. He hath 
put down the mighty from their seats, and 
exalted them of low degree. He hath filled 
the hungry with good things; and the rich 
He hath sent empty away. He hath holpen 
His servant Israel, in remembrance of His 
mercy. As He spake to our fathers, to Abra- 
ham, and to his seed forever. 

St. Luxe I: 46. 


The Braper of Fulfilment 


HE Messiah had come. Our Lord 
Jesus Christ had been born into this 
world. His mother Mary and her husband 


BIBLE PRAYERS 55 


Joseph had brought Him to the temple for 
the rite of circumcision. There was present 
there an old man, Simeon, who had long 
waited for the coming of the Consolation of 
Israel. God had revealed to him that he 
should not see death until he had seen the 
Lord’s Christ. When the Holy Child was 
brought in he recognized Him as the prom- 
ised Saviour. He took Him up in his arms 
and blessed God and said: 


Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant de- 
part in peace, according to Thy word: for 
mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which 
Thou hast prepared before the face of all 
people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and 
the glory of Thy people Israel. 

Sr. Luxe II: 29. 


Simeon blessed them all and said unto 
Mary His mother, “Behold, this child is set 
for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; 
and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 
(yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own 
soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts 
may be revealed.” 


56 BIBLE PRAYERS 
The Praper of Prive and of Humility 


HE two characters in our Lord’s para- 

ble of the Pharisee and the publican 
have come down to our day as the symbols 
of pride and humility. The two men went 
up into the temple to pray. The Pharisee 
stood and prayed thus with himself: 


God, I thank Thee, that I am not as other 
men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or 
even as this publican. I fast twice in the 


week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 
st. Luxe XVIII: 11. 


The publican standing afar off, feeling 
himself unworthy to draw near the mercy- 
seat, would not lift up so much as his eyes 
unto heaven, but HOE upon his breast, 
saying: 


God be merciful to me a sinner. 


St. Luxe XVIII: 13. 


Few words, but embracing much. Jesus 
said, “I tell you this man went down to his 


BIBLE PRAYERS 57 


house justified rather than the other: for 
everyone that exalteth himself shall be 
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall 
be exalted.” 


Che PBraper of Assurance 


| em of Bethany, the friend of Jesus, 
was dead. His sisters, Mary and Mar- 
tha, had sent for our Lord during the illness, 
but when He arrived Lazarus had been 
dead for four days and was buried. Our 
Lord asked to see the grave and commanded 
the stone to be rolled away from the mouth 
of the cave where he lay. When the stone 
had been removed Jesus lifted up his eyes 
and said: 


Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast 
heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest 
Me always: but because of the people which 
stand by I said it, that they may believe 
that Thou hast sent Me. 

St. Joun XI: 41. 


When He had thus spoken, He cried with 
a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” And 


58 BIBLE PRAYERS 


he that was dead came forth, bound hand 
and foot with grave clothes; and his face was 
bound about with a napkin. Jesus said 
unto them, “Loose him and let him go.” 

Then many of the Jews which came to 
Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus 
did, believed on Him. 


The Praper of Intercession 


ESUS had been talking to His disciples, 

just before His passion, and telling them 

to be of good cheer, for though in the world 

they might have tribulation, in Him they 

should have peace. When He had left them 

He prayed; the only long prayer that He is 
recorded to have uttered. 


Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy 
Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee: 
As Thou hast given Him power over all 
flesh, that He should give eternal life to as 
many as Thou hast given Him. And this 
is life eternal, that they might know Thee, 
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom 
Thou hast sent. 

I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have 


BIBLE PRAYERS 59 


finished the work which Thou gavest me to 
do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me 
with Thine own self with the glory which I 
had with Thee before the world was. I 
have manifested Thy name unto the men 
which Thou gavest Me out of the world: 
Thine they were, and Thou gavest them 
Me; and they have kept Thy word. Now 
they have known that all things whatsoever 
Thou hast given Me are of Thee. For I 
have given unto them the words which Thou 
gavest Me; and they have received them, 
and have known surely that I came out 
from Thee, and they have believed that 
Thou didst send Me. 

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, 
but for them which Thou hast given Me; for 
they are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, 
and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in 
them. And now I am no more in the world, 
but these are in the world, and I come to 
Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine 
own name those whom Thou hast given Me, 
that they may be one, as we are. While I 
was with them in the world, I kept them in 
Thy name: those that Thou gavest Me I 
have kept, and none of them is lost, but the 


60 BIBLE PRAYERS 


son of perdition; that the scripture might be 
fulfilled. 

And now I come to Thee; and these things 
I speak in the world, that they might have 
my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given 
them Thy word; and the world hath hated 
them, because they are not of the world, 
even as I am not of the world. I pray not 
that Thou shouldest take them out of the 
world, but that Thou shouldest keep them 
from the evil. They are not of the world, 
even as I am not of the world. Sanctify 
them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth. 

As Thou hast sent Me into the world, 
even so have I also sent them into the world. 
And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that 
they also might be sanctified through the 
truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but 
for them also which shall believe on Me 
through their word; that they all may be 
one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in 
Thee, that they also may be one in us: that 
the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. 

And the glory which Thou gavest Me I 
have given them; that they may be one, 
even as we are one: I in them and Thou in 
Me; that they may be made perfect in one; 


BIBLE PRAYERS 61 


and that the world may know that Thou 
hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou 
hast loved Me. 

Father, I will that they also, whom Thou 
hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that 
they may behold My glory, which Thou 
hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before 
the foundation of the world. O righteous 
Father, the world hath not known Thee: 
but I have known Thee, and these have 
known that Thou hast sent Me. And I 
have declared unto them Thy name, and 
will declare it: that the love wherewith 
Thou hast loved me may be in them and I 
in them. 


St. Jonn XVII: 1. 


When Jesus had spoken these words He 
went forth with His disciples to the garden on 
the Mount of Olives, to suffering and to death. 


The Braper of Submission 


UR Lord’s life on earth was almost 
over. He knew that the time of His 
betrayal and suffering was at hand, and His 
human nature shrank from it. He had gone 


62 BIBLE PRAYERS 


to the Mount of Olives with His disciples in 
deep depression of spirit. He said to them, 
“My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto 
death. 'Tarry ye here and watch with Me.” 
Jesus withdrew from them and fell on His 
face and prayed: 


O My Father, if it be possible, let this 
cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, 
but as Thou wilt. 

St. MattHew XXVI: 39. 


The disciples meant to be faithful, but 
they were overcome with weariness, and 
slept. When Jesus returned and found 
them asleep, He said unto Peter, “What, 
could ye not watch with Me one hour?” 
He went away the second time and prayed: 


O My Father, if this cup may not pass away 
from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done. 
St. MartrHew XXVI: 42. 


He came and found them asleep again, 
for their eyes were heavy. And He leit 
them, and went away again, and prayed the 


BIBLE PRAYERS 63 


third time, saying the same words. And 
_ there appeared an angel unto Him from 
Heaven, strengthening Him. 


The Wraper of Forgiveness 


HE enemies of our Lord had done their 

worst. The cross had been set up on 
Calvary and the innocent Christ had been 
nailed to it to suffer a lingering, agonizing 
death. The rulers of the Jews were there 
to mock and deride Him, saying, “He 
saved others; let Him save Himself, if He 
be the Christ, the chosen of God.’ The 
soldiers also jeered at Him and offered Him 
vinegar to drink, saying, “If Thou be the 
- King of the Jews, save Thyself.” What was 
our Lord’s reply to this cruel mocking? A 
prayer for His tormentors. 


Father, forgive them; for they know not 
what they do. 
St. Luxe XXIII: 34. 


A short time before the crucifixion He had 
said to His disciples, “Thinkest thou not 
that I cannot now pray to My Father and 


64 BIBLE PRAYERS 


He shall presently give me more than twelve 
legions of angels?” But for some mysterious - 
reason the suffering was necessary and He 
submitted to it voluntarily. 


The Braver of Supplication 


UR Lord hung upon the cross. The 

sufferings of that awful day were 
nearly ended. The two thieves who hung 
on either side of Him had spoken to Him, 
the one in railing and reproach, the other in 
defence and entreaty. “Dost not thou 
fear God, seeing thou art in the same con- 
demnation? And we indeed justly, for we 
receive the due reward of our deeds; but 
this man has done nothing amiss.”” Then, rec- 
ognizing Jesus as the Son of God, he prayed: 


Lord, remember me when Thou comest 
into Thy Kingdom. 
Sr. Luke XXIII: 42. 


The response was instantaneous. “Verily, 
I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with Me 
in Paradise.” 














